Data | Share of Tamil Nadu women who consumed green leafy vegetables declines drastically

Given the drop in consumption of dark green, leafy vegetables, the share of anaemic women may increase in Tamil Nadu

In 2019-21, only 10.6% of women in Tamil Nadu consumed dark green, leafy vegetables daily — the lowest share among all the States. In fact, the lowest shares of women consuming such vegetables are seen in the southern States, except Karnataka.

However, Tamil Nadu stands out for three other reasons. First, just five years ago, the share of women who ate dark green, leafy vegetables was 59.6% in the State. This means there has been a drastic drop of 49% points since then. The second biggest drop is seen in Assam — a decline of 19.8% points. Second, while only 10.6% of women consumed such vegetables daily, 42.5% of men in Tamil Nadu consumed them daily in 2019-21 — a difference of 31.9% points, the highest among all the States considered. Among the major States, Kerala follows with a difference of around 13% points, with men consuming more. Third, while the share of men who consumed green vegetables in Tamil Nadu also came down in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16, the decline (of 23.4% points) pales in comparison to the decline in the share of women (49% points). Yet, the decline among men was the sharpest, along with Assam, when compared to other States. Therefore, Tamil Nadu stands out as the State where the lowest share of women consumed dark green, leafy vegetables; the share of such women recorded the most drastic drop in the last five years; the gender inequality in consumption was the highest among all the States; and the decline among men was the sharpest in the State along with Assam.

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These conclusions are based on the National Family Health Surveys 4 and 5. The NFHS says green, leafy vegetables are a rich source of iron, folic acid, vitamin C, carotene, riboflavin, and calcium. Previous surveys said, “States with the highest levels of anaemia among women are the same States that have the lowest regular consumption of green, leafy vegetables among women.” Given the drastic drop in vegetable consumption among women in Tamil Nadu in 2019-21, the share of anaemic women in the State may increase. The comparison between genders should be read with caution as the male sample size is much lower than the number of female respondents in the NFHS. However, as this difference in sample size exists across all the States, the above conclusions hold true.

Chart 1 shows the share of women who consumed dark green, leafy vegetables daily across various States and regions in 2019-21. Except for Karnataka, the southern States are at the bottom of the list, followed by the western States. While the northern and north-eastern States are middling, the eastern and central States stand out with a high share of women consuming such vegetables daily.

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Chart 2 shows the change in the share of women who consumed such vegetables daily in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16. States to the right of the zero mark recorded an increase and vice-versa. With a decline of 49% points, Tamil Nadu stands out, followed by Assam. Except for Karnataka, which already had a high share, the share increased in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala among the southern States.